Not Applicable
Not Applicable
This invention relates to the field of safety equipment for handrails, and more particularly to a guard to prevent pinching of a finger between adjacent upright supports of a handrail or fence.
Patio and pontoon boats typically have several railing segments along both sides and across the bow. One railing segment comprises a horizontal handrail between two vertical stanchions. The segment is bent from one piece of metal tubing with arcuate transitions from the handrail to the stanchions. Stanchions of adjacent segments are mounted close together on the boat gunwales. Each pair of adjacent railings forms a generally Y shaped profile in the arcuate transition area. It is at these transition areas where the arcs converge downward that fingers can jam, often with tragic results. Boaters jumping over the handrail into the water have lost fingers in this manner.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a finger pinch guard for handrails that will prevent a finger from being jammed between the upright stanchions.
There is a further need to provide a finger pinch guard of the type described and that can be installed quickly and easily by a semi-skilled worker.
There is a yet further need to provide a finger pinch guard of the type described and that can be manufactured cost-effectively in large quantities of high quality.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a finger pinch guard for use in connection with railings on a boat. Each railing has a horizontal handrail extending between opposite first and second arcuate transitions. Each railing has a first stanchion connected to the first arcuate transition, and a second stanchion connected to the second arcuate transition. Each stanchion extends downward and is mounted to a gunwale of the boat. The railings are mounted in-line along the gunwale of the boat with the stanchion of a first railing being mounted closely adjacent the stanchion of a second railing. Thus, each pair of adjacent stanchions and arcuate transitions forms a generally Y-shaped profile in an arcuate transition area. A mounting member is attached to the railing in the arcuate transition area. A curved member is attached to the mounting member. The curved member curves downward and outward from the arcuate transition area. Thus, a finger introduced into the arcuate transition area with downward force will be directed by the curved member to move outward and away from the railing. The finger is thereby prevented from being pinched in the Y-shaped arcuate transition area.